Treats Wrapped in an Ethical Dilemma

Posted on Mon Apr 15th, 2024 @ 3:52pm by Ethan Thompson & Alonzo Blazevic & René Rouen

2,091 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Winter is Coming
Location: A Little Ahead of the House, Outside the Bangor Safe Zone
Timeline: 5 September 2010 - 6:30 p.m.

It wasn't too long ago that Alonzo had found himself coming to René, Vienna, and Ethan's defense in conversation with the group as a whole. People were still treating the teenagers like they were children which technically, they were. Ethan especially given he was the youngest. The flaw in that thinking as Alonzo pointed out was the trio of teenagers had witnessed a lot in recent weeks. Ethan had seen things that even Alonzo actively avoided bringing up in detail. Vienna had lost her mother. René was a whole continent across the ocean from where he called home. That was why Alonzo spoke up and stated they each were mature enough to be taught to handle weapons.

He still did not fully forgive René for the whole Walmart fiasco, but Alonzo knew he had to get over that and put him past them both. If Alonzo did not, they would continue to have tension and the lack of trust would dangerous. When the opportunity to do some reconnaissance came about, René of course was tasked with scouting ahead. Hale had looked for volunteers among the 'adults' to accompany the French teenager. Naturally, someone like Vic was a safe option, but before she said anything Alonzo had volunteered.

As they walked, Alonzo's pace was steady but René was a tad quicker. "Hey, don't get too far ahead. We're getting into a more urban area. More people means more those things" commented Alonzo and those things were all around. The two were not attracting attention yet.

René immediately slowed his pace. He realized Alonzo was right to set a moderate pace. They were likely to be on foot for the the day, if not the foreseeable future. Maintaining a quick pace would tire him too quickly, especially with the load in the backpack. He turned to look at Alonzo. "My apologies." He glanced around warily before turning to Alonzo. "Something doesn't feel right sir."

Alonzo inched closer to René with what the teenager had said. "You're right," said Alonzo which was not something he expected to say regarding the French boy yet nevertheless, he was correct. "Stay close, René" added the man who retrieved his revolver.

He pointed to something on the road ahead. "Those marks ahead" Alonzo said. The road ahead had some sort of skidmarks. There was an embankment nearby.

René placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword. He didn't draw the blade free of the scabbard. His left hand went to the quick release on his backpack. He nodded to Alonzo that he was ready to proceed.

Alonzo looked at René and gave a nod. "You're going to want to exchange that for a gun soon " he said holding his own revolver which Alonzo needed to upgrade. He had begun to approach the embankment with René when Alonzo glanced over it.

There was a white delivery truck that took heavy front end damage, wedged up head on against a tree. The windshield shattered. Purple and orange lettering displayed on the side of the van.

"Investigate?" he said to René. There did not appear to be any reanimated things around, but that could change at any moment. "We need to be cautious" added Alonzo.

René nodded. He drew the rapier. "Cover me in case there's more than one or two of the Soulless." He looked down the embankment, picking out a path to the rear cargo doors of the truck.

"I'll cover you," said Alonzo following René a little. "Those doors will probably be locked if it hasn't been ransacked yet. You may want to check the driver's side...make sure its empty and if not, definitely dead." That was one of Alonzo's worries, that the driver did not survive the crash and had found a 'second life' of sorts.

René nodded to Alonzo. He set out down the embankment cautiously. His senses kicked in as adrenaline began pumping. He stopped just short of the back door as a gust of wind brought the smell of death. He resumed moving even more cautiously. He looked at the drivers side mirror and caught movement. He paused a second time and pointed to the door, then held up one index finger and finally waggled his hand; conveying to Alonzo. Driver's seat, one person, not entirely dead yet.

Alonzo shrugged his shoulders and looked at René making a sword motion. Then a bit of a sword thrusting motion. He moved closer to René "Through the head?"

Rene continued forward and into position by the driver side door. He could see the driver was pinned by the steering wheel as the front of the vehicle was crushed in. The driver had been young, early to mid 20s. René spoke a quiet prayer before thrusting his rapier through the driver's gaping maw and into the brain.

Once the Soulless driver was dispatched permanently, René took a closer look in the cab of the truck to make sure no surprises awaited him when he opened the door. Once verified, he reached in the open window and unlocked the door. He retracted his hand and pulled the door open. He turned to Alonzo. "All clear Monsieur Blazevic." He reached in and pulled the vehicle keys from the ignition and cautiously made his way to the back cargo doors.

Alonzo looked at René and nodded. He raised his revolver and took a few steps back. "Better safe than sorry," he said as he waited for the teen to unlock and open the doors. "It anything moves back there..." Alonzo would shoot it. "Hopefully it's just full of boxes for us to open."

Rene cleaned the blade of his rapier as best he could on the completely dead driver's shirt and returned the weapon to his scabbard. He drew his dirk this time as he inserted the other key into the lock and turned it. He took hold of the handle and opened the door, stepping out of the way to give Alonzo a clear shot if need be.

A small mountain of boxes greeted them both. No additional signs of the dead or souless creatures about. Alonzo approached and wrestled open a box a smiled. He picked two items out of the box and held them up "Boxers or briefs? The first box had mens underwear packets. Clothing. It's not coffee, but useful.

René peered inside and found a cargo manifest on a clipboard. Looking through it indicated the truck was filled with textiles of various types and sizes. He glanced at the boxes and then to Alonzo. "I guess we wait for the others and then load up what we can?"

"Unless we keep this little treasure hidden and to ourselves?" Alonzo's tone was inquisitive. "Or we report what we found to the rest of the group."

René glanced curiously at Alonzo. "It's our job to report any find we make. Clothes are a useful item for the entire group." He gestured to the many boxes. ""There's no point in keeping this find a secret."

"Then we will..." Alonzo moved away from the back of the vehicle when he heard footsteps from the road above. He looked at Rene. Naturally, Alonzo had his revolver ready, but it was not these reanimated corpses that ran like that. It was generally those very much alive.

Ethan, who had been jogging along the road, veered over to the Federal Express truck when he saw Alonzo and Rene at the back end. Years of track meant the distance was easily manageable so he wasn't winded just nervous because … you know … how the world was these days. "Hey," he said as peered into the truck, "Hale found a spot where we can stop for the night. Says you two are to come back and join us. Need a hand with anything?"

"Excellent," responded Alonzo who coyly put the revolver away. He was glad that was not the type to shoot first and ask questions later. As he was rummaging through boxes he did have one question. "What size shoe do you wear, Ethan?"

"Sec," Ethan said as he pulled off his sneaker and looked inside. "Size .. 10. Why? Something good?" He dropped to the ground and put his sneaker back on then rose to his feet once more. "Change of clothes and a jacket would be good."

"This whole FedEx truck is full of boxes. It is looking like a lot of clothes so far. Good chance you might find a jacket, definitely some underwear" replied Alonzo. He pulled out a shoebox that was marked Mens size 10. "Though these have your name on them" added Alonzo. Figuratively of course. "Air Jordans. You could probably use an upgrade from those" Alonzo said indicating the beat up sneakers.

Ethan, who was already digging through boxes turned and grabbed the sneaks, grinning cheerfully. The weight of his mom's disapproval whenever he helped himself to something, like fresh-made cookies, blossomed in his mind and then faded almost immediately when he spotted a dark blue utility jacket that was only a size larger and a pair of Henley shirts. "Like Christmas," he said, "but with larceny mixed in."

René paused in his search through boxes. He glanced at Ethan and appeared thoughtful for a moment. He put down a box he had just opened and stepped back. Ethan was right. It could very well be that this truck was fair game for salvage, but the stuff could be someone else's belongings. He knew that the clothing would be useful in the coming days, but he could not bring himself to steal them.

Ethan, noticing what Rene did, stopped and shook his head. "May be stealing," he said quietly, "and I'm sure my folks would ground me for life if they knew but that was back then. Before. And now? All I have is the clothes on my back … so, I'm taking it. You do you but me? I don't want to freeze."

René nodded. "That...is all any of us can do."

"My mom had a bit of a temper," Ethan said, smiling fondly for a moment before it dropped away, fading, bleeding into the memory of how he'd found them. What he'd seen. "I'd give anything to be yelled at again." He bent over the box and found two more shirts which he offered to Rene. "So … want some?"

Ethan's words struck a chord with René. The younger teenager knew his parents were dead and could begin the grieving process. Rene hadn't spoken with his parents since the day prior to the field trip to Millinocket. He didn't know if he should be grieving or not. He hoped they were okay. He prayed they were. Not knowing was tearing at his soul though. He stared at the shirts long and hard before taking them. His family, if they still lived, would want him to survive. He looked up at Ethan with a mixed expression of empathy for the younger lad and his own sorrow. "Merci mon ami."

"De nada, amigo," Ethan answered. He turned, intending to go back to hunting through boxes, but he'd lost interest in the hunt. Everyone thought it was better knowing what happened but seeing them die, seeing them … eaten … that wasn't a nightmare he'd wish on anyone. So, when it came to his mom's parents in Florida and his dad's parents in upstate New York, he was happy to imagine them safe behind stout walls playing bridge with the neighbors.

He turned toward Alonzo. "Listen, Hale wants us all back. Could we dump a bunch of stuff in some boxes and let everyone sort it out when we get back?"

Alonzo nodded "Yes," he said. "We also have the benefit of knowing where this truck is. It's off from the road a bit and down an embankment. The others could come back and grab the rest of it too, but how long this truck remains our find and not someone else's is just a matter of time" added the man.

René glanced at the sky. "It will be dark in the next hour." He gestured to the truck. "I doubt anyone will find it before morning. We can come back first thing in the morning." He closed the cargo doors, locked it, and handed the keys to Alonzo.

"Sounds like a plan then," Ethan said. With his sneaks under one arm and his clothes in the other, he turned back toward the road, his stomach rumbling audibly. "Here's hoping there's food in that house we found."

 

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